Vågan Church

Vågan Church (Norwegian: Vågan kirke; nickname: Lofoten Cathedral) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kabelvåg on the island of Austvågøya. It is the church for the Vågan parish which is part of the Lofoten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland. The yellow, wooden church was built in a cruciform style in 1898 by the architect Carl J. Bergstrøm. The church seats about 1,200 people, making it the largest wooden building in Northern Norway.[1][2][3]

Vågan Church "Lofoten Cathedral"
Vågan kirke / Lofotkatedralen
View of the church
Vågan Church "Lofoten Cathedral" Location of the church Vågan Church "Lofoten Cathedral" Vågan Church "Lofoten Cathedral" (Norway)
68.2157°N 14.4832°E
Location	Vågan, Nordland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	1100s
Consecrated	9 October 1898
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Carl J. Bergstrøm
Architectural type	Cruciform
Style	Gothic revival
Completed	1898
Specifications
Capacity	1200
Materials	Wood
Administration
Parish	Vågan
Deanery	Lofoten prosti
Diocese	Sør-Hålogaland

History

This has been a church site since the 12th century. Lofoten's first church was built here during the time of King Øystein Magnusson (c. 1088– 1123). Five or six different churches have been built on this very location throughout the last 900 years. One former church was moved to Værøya in 1799 (see Old Værøy Church). The present church was built in 1898 to be large enough to accommodate all the fishermen who came to Kabelvåg each season. It was nicknamed the "Lofoten Cathedral" (Lofotkatedralen) by Eivind Berggrav, the Bishop of the Diocese of Oslo in 1929. The church was designed in Gothic revival style by the architect Carl Julius Bergstrøm (1828-1898).[4][5][6]

When the Lofoten Cathedral was completed, the "old church" was still located just across the road, until it was demolished in the summer of 1900.[7]

Media gallery

• 
  Exterior drawing
• 
  Exterior side
• 
  Exterior front
• 
  Exterior side
• 
  Tower
• 
  Interior
• 
  Pulpit
• 
  Baptismal font
• 
  Altarpiece
• 
  Altar
• 
  Nave
• 
  Window

See also

• List of churches in Nordland

References

1. "Vågan kirke, Kabelvåg". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2018-11-04.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2018-11-04.
3. Thorsnæs, Geir, ed. (2017-02-14). "Vågan". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2018-11-04.
4. Brun, Håkon. "Vågan kirke 100 år". Svolvær Historielag. Retrieved 2018-09-01.
5. Eldal, Jens Christian, ed. (2013-07-03). "Carl J. Bergstrøm". Norske kunstnerleksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2018-11-04.
6. "Vågan kirkested / Vågan kirke 4" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 2018-11-04.
7. "Vågan kirke - Lofotkatedralen" (in Norwegian). Vågan kirkelige fellesråd. Retrieved 2012-07-21.